Piecemeal devolution and a mess of Westminster rules are preventing political talent playing a bigger role in British public life
Call it the Andy Burnham problem in British politics. Yet the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester is more a victim than a source of it. Nor is the problem confined to him, or indeed to the Labour party. The same thing applies in all the parties. It is structural, cultural, very British, and it needs addressing.
The problem is the mismatch between the realities of British politics and governance on the one hand and the assumed supremacy of the unreformed Westminster parliament on the other. Burnham’s case is particularly topical, because there may shortly be a vacancy for leader of the Labour party. If Durham police issues a fixed-penalty notice against him for breaching Covid regulations, Keir Starmer has said he will step down. Burnham is the bookmakers’ clear favourite as successor. As things stand, however, he is ineligible to stand because he is not a member of parliament.
Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist
